What do you believe is the purpose of a college education?
I believe the purpose of a college education is to give anyone the opportunity to better themselves, broaden their minds and opinions, and to just inform individuals of the types of differences that can be made when they put fourth the effort. A college education is not something that should be taken lightly, because the end result is being in the "real world". Receiving a college education means being in a structured environment, and being given academic and worldwide tools that can later be applied in real world situations.

What does it mean to be educated?
Being education means being open minded. Being open to new opportunities, new situations, people, and not putting judgement on something because of preconceived notions. To be an educated person is to be someone who can take what they have learned through all experiences, and apply it to any place in their life, or someone else's life. For me, being educated is putting forth the effort to try to understand everything that may come my way, and learning what I can from anything and everything I'm exposed to.

What experiences have you had with education that led you to this belief?
I believe being educated is being open to new situations and people, and coming to college, away from my hometown and my comfort zone really tested that. I came from a predominantly white area on the west side of Pennsylvania. Coming to Bloomsburg has allowed me to be exposed to people of all different racial and ethnic backgrounds, as well as just every type of person I only ever imagined but never met, as well as ones I never expected. Without being open to meeting those types of people, I never would have enjoyed my experience up until this point. I'm also observing how I take strategies I have learned in the past, whether it may be old study practices, social techniques, or anything else, and applying them to new situations. I enjoy how I am able to take classes about information I know nothing about, and how I am able to come out of the class more aware, and in my opinion, educated than before.